Hillel School to light more than one hundred Menorahs on the seventh night of Hanukkah

December, 2004

Each of the more than 130 Hillel School of Tampa families will bring a menorah from home to light at the school’s Hanukkah Family Night Celebration and Candle Lighting Ceremony.  The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, December 13, 2004 at Beth Am synagogue, adjacent to the school.

The Hanukkah Night Celebration, held on the 7^th night of Hanukkah, will also feature music and singing, a dinner, and a presentation by the school’s Hanukkah Speakers’ Bureau, a group of middle school students who educate local community groups on the story and traditions of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is the Jewish “Festival of Lights” holiday, running for eight days, beginning this year on December 7.  On each of the eight nights of the holiday, another candle is lit on the Menorah, a nine branch candelabra.  The Menorah, also called a Hanukkiah, symbolizes the rededication of the Temple in 165 B.C.E.  The great menorah in the Temple had not been lit for several years by order of the Syrian Greeks, who ruled the land at the time.  When the Jews sought to rekindle the menorah in the Temple sanctuary, they found only enough purified oil to last for one day, yet, miraculously, the small portion of oil burned for eight days – the length of time required to purify new oil.

Hanukkah means “rededication” and commemorates the Festival of Lights, miracles, and the triumph of freedom.

Hillel School of Tampa, located at 2020 West Fletcher Avenue in Northwest Tampa, is a Jewish elementary and middle school, with over 200 students in grades transitional -kindergarten through eighth grade.

For more information about Hillel School, or the Hanukkah Family Night Celebration, contact the school at 813-963-2242.

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